So I guess we learned a few things today…
1. There will probably never be another Hanover boys
hockey mullet or mohawk as long as Dick Dodds is the coach
2. The prognosticators at Hockey Night in Boston
should probably concentrate their efforts on predicting the Bay State and skip
New Hampshire – see below:
HNIB NH Division 1 Preseason Top 10:
HNIB NH Division 1 Preseason Top 10:
Rank
|
Team
|
PR*
|
W
|
L
|
T
|
1
|
Bishop Guertin
|
12
|
9
|
2
|
|
2
|
Bedford
|
19
|
1
|
1
|
|
3
|
Pinkerton
|
11
|
7
|
1
|
|
4
|
Concord
|
18
|
6
|
0
|
|
5
|
Londonderry
|
10
|
8
|
0
|
|
6
|
Salem
|
16
|
5
|
2
|
|
7
|
Hanover
|
16
|
7
|
0
|
|
8
|
Trinity
|
6
|
12
|
0
|
|
9
|
Bishop Brady
|
6
|
10
|
1
|
|
10
|
Central
|
10
|
10
|
0
|
4. The roof of a school bus can support the weight of 8 high school boys – but more on that later
So comes the last blog on the final day of
the 2017-18 New Hampshire boys hockey season.
When we last saw the Marauders, they were mobbing their senior star
goalie Harris LaRock at JFK arena two days ago after he had just carried them
(along with junior Duncan Bailey) to an improbable and unbelievable victory (or
so probably thought the NHIB editors) over the evil empire BG Cardinals. A gut-check, defensive masterpiece that had
those Hanover hicks into the state final for the first time since 2011. But that win did not come without a price for
in order to beat BG, some of the Marauders had to literally leave their bodies
on the ice, especially the defensive unit.
As the Marauders limped out of JFK arena that night to their bus, some
of them looking more haggard than every NH team that has ever had to play the Hanover
girls team – more on that later too – they passed under the Bedford student section
sitting in the West end stands. It must
have been very disheartening for our boys to have to walk under that raucous
mass of black-clad Bulldog supporters knowing that they might have to face Bedford
in less than 48 hours. A team that had
already beaten them twice this season, including in the finals of the Manchester
Christmas tournament, and a team that was extremely well coached, fast,
skilled, and experienced (15 seniors and juniors on the team). And by the way, they were the two time defending
Division 1 NHIAA champions – yikes.
So what did they do? Well they had a practice, and they had a team
dinner at captain Lehmann’s house and we heard through a reliable source that three
of the defensive walking wounded – Braxton McNulty, Sy Oberting, and Matty
Gardner – spent part of Friday night together soaking in the ice tub at Wayne’s
World (all at once we understand – maybe captain McNulty taking the
inclusiveness theme a bit far?) And as
they boarded the bus for yet another trip to the Queen City down I-89, passing
the awesome GO HANOVER HOCKEY sign at Trumbull-Nelson as they pulled out of
town, it’s hard to believe that this team of 4 seniors, 6 juniors, 6 sophomores
and a freshman would be given a chance by anyone in the state today to bring
home Hanover’s ninth state title and first since 2006.
But they
believed – and they believed because they had been counted out so many times
already this year by the preseason pundits, by the southern New Hampshire
hockey mafia, and by those who said well only a few of those Hanover kids
ever played youth hockey for the Avs, Monarchs, Spartans, Knights, yada, yada,
yada and just didn’t have the talent to compete. They believed because they knew it is hard to get beaten three times in a year by the same team. They believed because they knew that they had
two characteristics that had never failed them all year and had probably been
elusive to so many of those kids who had played in whatever Boston-based league
du jour that was in vogue this week – they believed in each other and they
believed in their team.
Into cavernous SNHU
arena therefore came the Hanover Marauders – a town team – with a whole town
behind them. A big sheet of ice, a warm arena, and a hyped-up Hanover student
crowd made some of the Hanover partisans think that maybe this would be enough
to give us just half a chance as the black-clad Bulldogs took to the ice. What a sight it was to see the whole Bedford team’s
blond hair contrasted with
their intimidating black uniforms. However, unlike the
jealousy exhibited by some of the Hanover players over the luscious locks worn
by the Londonderry players in the quarterfinal game, I have my doubts that any of
our players would have wanted to trade their flows for the peroxide salad sitting across the neutral zone.
 |
| 2018 New Hampshire Division 1 Champions |
So the puck
dropped on the 2018 Division 1 State Championship game at around 12:30 with everyone
knowing that in the next 90 minutes, history would be made. Would it be the Bulldogs taking their third
straight title – a feat not achieved since the 1996-99 Concord Crimson
Tide? Or would it be Hanover, which had
won a title in every decade since the 1970s, giving Dick Dodds and his staff
their first in 12 years?
Just like in the
first Bedford game in the Manchester tournament, the play was pretty even in
the first. Lots of back-and-forth on the
wide open ice. And although Bedford led
in the shots total at 7-4, none were really that threatening with the exception
of a dipsy-doodle flip at the near circle off a deflection that LaRock
controlled easily. What was clear
however, was that whatever worries there were about Hanover being flat, hurt,
tired, just happy to be there, etc were obliterated in that first period. The Stadheim, Lehmann, Goff line was flying
and each line appeared to get stronger and stronger as they rolled out under the
direction of coaches Doherty and Cashman.
It was as if coach Wayne – making his first appearance behind the bench
of the year – was squeezing in a month of workouts into each player to get them stronger as they
waited for their next turn on the ice.
And even as the speedy Bedford forwards came crashing through the
neutral zone, the defense held (you think coach Sutton would allow a breakdown?) with every sort of check imaginable – body, stick,
hip, prayer – to keep them off of LaRock.
This wasn’t the same game as with BG in the semi-finals – less physical,
more skilled, less grind, more speed.
 |
| Hardware for the Trophy Case |
As the period
neared it conclusion, Hanover got the puck luck that any team needs to go as
deep as these boys did this year. Owen
Stadheim received the outlet on the far boards at the redline and forced his
way via speed and skill (Did you know Owen had a faster gear all season? I thought it impossible but he had it today) to convert
a 1 on 2 into a great unobstructed look from the high crease.
His shot sailed just wide and high but he trailed the play, collected
the puck behind the net and found line mate Goff whose pass to the charging
Lehmann found the captain in the low slot. With a backhanded flip he five-holed Bedford
goalie Connor Laurendeau to give Hanover a 1-0 lead just before the period’s
end.
So what do you
tell your team during the first intermission when leading the two-time defending
champion and favorite and have just scored a late period goal – you tell them
to score again. Lehmann and Stadheim
must have been listening and not been fantasizing about the upcoming March intensive
because just 37 seconds into the second, a bang bang sequence had Stadheim
again find his line mate crashing with Lehmann calming beating Laurendeau on the
forehand for a 2-0 lead. Now it was
getting interesting, because as the student sections exchanged chants across
the ice (the Bedford students stopped the exchange as soon as the Hanover fans
pointed out the Bulldog’s deficit with the always-quieting “scoreboard” chant) the
Marauders pounded Bedford in the neutral zone.
There were two penalties on each team, all of which were killed, but the
Marauders definitely got the better of play, outshooting Bedford 15-10 in the
period.
 |
| Our Biggest Fan Missy |
Now everyone
knew what would happen in the third – either Hanover protects their two goal
lead (all together now repeat after me “the two goal lead is the most dangerous
in hockey” – good job class) or Bedford
comes out like they did in their second game and just takes it to the tired
Upper Valley boys. Starting the period
on the kill, the Marauders handled it easily, but the wheels began to wobble as
Bedford ratcheted up the pressure. With
12:25 left, Parker Roberto, a surname well known in the New Hampshire hockey youth
circles, struck on a pretty backhander in close to make is 2-1.
Now Einstein once
explained his theory of relativity like this (not quite verbatim) – “When you
are courting, an hour seems like a second. When you put your hand on a hot stove, a
second seems like an hour.” Clearly,
Einstein was not as smart as everyone thinks because the better analogy for his
theory of relativity should have been this, “When you are scoring goals against
Bedford, an hour feels like a second.
When you are trying to prevent goals by Bedford (especially for 12 minutes
and 25 seconds), a second feels like an hour.” Hence the Hanover players learned a lesson in
the theory of relativity this afternoon, which is keeping with the NHIAA
mission statement read before the game that sports are an extension of the
classroom experience.
So we writhed,
and we moaned, and we cursed and we implored that clock to wind down with every
rush from the Bulldogs. But as hyped as
we were in the crowd, it seemed like the players were having just a good old
Saturday skate as they kept calm and carried on. LaRock was a beast on every shot thrown his
way and the back and fore-checkers just kept frustrating the bulldogs into
mistakes in the neutral zone which were cleared by the defense. A Hanover time out at 5:34 left just to get
everyone together for a how ya doin and then it was under five minutes, then
four, three and then two. Bedford fans were
silent, Hanover fans were exuberant, and then Bedford took its timeout with
1:08 left and pulled their goalie.
 |
| Benjamin Looking Sharp |
The last minute
of the season, for some the last time they would put on skates for a meaningful
hockey game in their lives, and it all came down to 1:08. Then it was one minute, thirty seconds and then
fifteen and with Bedford coming down the near board for one more rush, it was
McNulty, who in a play that sums up this Hanover team, laid out flat and took a
slapshot right in the chest with five seconds left. 5-4-3-2-1 done and STATE CHAMPIONS!
A few immediate
observations – bedlam on top of Harris as he was tackled in front of his goal
on the crease, Hans Williams – a hero for this team this year – acting like the
cherry on top and launching himself on the pile probably much to the horror of
his orthopedic team, tears in the eyes of many of the parents, and “We are the
champions” playing overhead.
There were many
great moments in the time to follow. One
that will always ring true is the class with which the Bedford team collected
their medals and each one of them came to shake the hands of the entire Hanover
team – class act. There were the Dodds
brothers standing at mid-ice having their pictures taken with their state
championship trophies. There was the
team pinning their trophy on the glass in front of the student section. There were the boys coming up from the locker
room and walking into the arms of their adoring fans.
Said Dodds “I
am so proud of these kids obviously because they are state champions but also
because of the way they achieved it.
They were unflappable, they blocked out all of the pageantry and they
stuck to the game plan.”
With the 2-1
win, Hanover finished the year with a record of 18-3 in NHIAA play (21-3
overall). They are a team that made
their families proud, their coaches proud, their town proud, but most of all
themselves proud. Along with the girls
team they are half of the only tandem in the history of New Hampshire hockey to
win the boys and girls crowns in the same year.
 |
| Champions and Knuckleheads |
As I sit here and
write the final paragraph in the blog for the year, I think it might have finally
dawned on me how this team was able to accomplish this feat in the face of so
much doubt and it occurred to me as I was watching Mr. T’s bus come lumbering around
the corner down Lebanon street to the high school. On top of that bus were several players and
the one who was completely out of the safety hatch, standing fully on top of
the bus in complete violation of any known traffic law, was Harris LaRock with
his arms raised in victory. And I
thought about that kid who sat and bided his time for three straight years waiting
his chance to play one minute of varsity and when he had the chance, became the
best goalie in the state. Perhaps that’s
what it takes – desire, humility and when given the chance, you pounce on it and
make it yours. A lesson that goes well
beyond the hockey rink.
Congratulations
Marauders and thank you.
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